Syriac Christianity -2

THE SYRIAC CHURCH DURING THE SASSANIAN PERIOD

I. Ecclesiastical administrative organization in Babylonia

INTRODUCTION

During the 1st and 2nd centuries, the Church of Mesopotamia lived under Parthian rule. In A.D. 224, Ardashir I overthrew the Parthian dynasty and inaugurated the Sassanian period (after the name of Ardashir’s father, Sassan, of Iranian extraction). The Sassanians ruled over Persia and Mesopotamia until they were defeated by the Arabs early in the 7th century. The Sassanians were Zoroastrians (worshipped fire). Anatolia and Syria were ruled by the Romans, and after 395 by Byzantium, the capital of the Roman Empire in the East, officially Christian in religion. Shapur I (241-272) conquered Antioch in Syria, deporting many Christians into Mesopotamia and Persia where they settled; other deportees came from northern Syria and Armenia. One deportee was Demetrianus, bishop of Antioch:

He (Shapur) settled in these (new) cities a group of the deportees, giving them
parcels of land to work, and houses to inhabit. The Christians in Persian land increased in numbers on this account. Monasteries and churches were built. Among the people were priests deported from Antioch. They settled in Gondishapur.

The “Roman” deportees added a dimension to the church of Babylonia, previously founded by Mar Mari. They built churches and monasteries, participated in the life of the local church. Ascetics lived in cells cut inside the rock: The cells of “Hebisha” (lit. “Recluse”) in Khinis (north of Iraq) cut inside Assyrian rock reliefs, show Roman architectural features at their entrances. Settlements of deportees in Gondishapur, Rew-Ardashir, etc., became important bishopric centres later

INDEPENDENCE OF THE CHURCH IN BABYLONIA

The See of Seleucia
Until the 3rd century, Christians in Mesopotamia formed semi-independent communities headed by bishops, linked only by common Faith. Some links with Antioch, Mother of all Eastern Churches, existed: Bishops of Antioch used to confirm the nomination of bishops in Persian lands. The see of Seleucia grew strong and imposed itself as the leader of all other sees. A synod held in Seleucia in 410, under the patronage of the Sassanian king Yazdgard I, confirmed the primacy of the bishopric see of Seleucia-Ctesiphon:

These things took place during the election for the leadership of the honorable
and great man of God our Father Mar Isaac, bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon,
Catholicos and head of all bishops in the whole East, who was deemed by God
worthy of this leadership over the whole East (Synodicon).

One would assume that the allegiance of the church of Mesopotamia toward the Patriarch of Antioch was to be made through the person of the Catholicos only. (But see the Synod of 424 below).

The bishop of Seleucia
His title of “Catholicos” was originally given to tax-collectors in Roman lands. He later took the title “patriarch” but not before 451, when the Council of Chalcedon gave it to 5 bishopric sees (Seleucia not included): Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Antioch. The Catholicos became independent from Antioch for the following reasons:

-Political hostility between Romans (in Syria) and Persians (in Mesopotamia) endangered trade routes, making travel and communication hazardous, sometimes fatal.

-During the 5th century, doctrinal disputes further isolated the Church of Babylonia.

-Geographical expansion of the Church of Babylonia increased the sense of independence.
-“Nicean decrees” (in reference to the Council of Nicene, A.D. 325) conferred some kind of autonomy to eastern Churches.

ADMINISTRATIVE SYNODS OF THE CHURCH OF BABYLONIA

The isolation of the church in Babylonia strengthened its sense of autonomy, which in turn strengthened the administrative sense of the church in Babylonia. SYNODS aiming at managing the affairs of the church were held and their acts were published. The acts of 15 synods are known from two manuscripts dated to the 8th century. These are great sources of information about the history of the church in Mesopotamia after 410. They contain unique details about the development of eastern Syriac theology, chronological lines of patriarchs, lines of some 300 bishops with their sees, political, social and religious conditions in Mesopotamia between 399 and 790. Here are some Synods in short words:

A.D. 410: Synod of Mar Isaac
Initiated by bishop Marutha of Miapharqat (=also called Martyropolis, city in northern Syria), ambassador of the Byzantine king to Yazdgard I of Persia (399-420). Bishops came to Seleucia in January and the introductory session was held in the Great Church, the 6th of the month. The letter of “the bishops of the West” to Yazdgard I was read. First working session in February 1, began with prayers for the life of the Shahin-shah. The letter of “the bishops of the West”, containing the acts of the Council of Nicene (A.D. 325) was read, then endorsed by the bishops. Ecclesiastical administration was defined: One bishop for each city, ordained by at least 3 bishops, with the approval of the highest ecclesiastical administrator, the Metropolitan. The primacy of the Metropolitan of Seleucia-Ctesiphon was confirmed. He took the title “Catholicos” (see above). 21 canons were created dealing with church administration, relations between lay people and their bishops, and between the latter and their own superiors. Ecclesiastical provinces were defined:

Seleucia, see of the Catholicos
Gondishapur (Aramaic Beth-Laphat), 1st Metropolitan see
Nisibis
Furat-Maishan (modern Basrah in Iraq)
Ediabene
(the region of modern Erbil)
Karkh-Selokh (modern Kirkuk in Iraq)

The acts of the Synod were written down, and at the end each bishop signed: “I, bishop so-and-so, agree with what was written above”.

A.D. 420: Synod of Yahbalaha

A.D. 424: Synod of Dadisho’
It dealt with ecclesiastical succession problems, and declared officially: It is the Catholicos who is for us Peter, head of our ecclesistical congregation (Synodicon 50). It sought help not from “the bishops of the West” this time, but from the Sassanian king himself. The church of Babylonia is no longer a satellite but a national church in its own right. There was a misconception that the church of Babylonia was allied with the Romans in the West. The independence of the Church of Babylonia eliminated that misconception:

We now confirm under oath as follows: ‘It is not lawful that the people of the East complain about their patriarch to the patriarchs of the West, and in case a lawsuit is not settled in his presence, then it will be left for the judgment of Christ.’ We confirm and sanction this law that will not be abolished or annulled, because we confirmed it under oath in the name of the Holy Trinity.

A.D. 486: Synod of Mar Acacius
3 canons were created, one of which prohibited bishops to impose celibacy on priests, deacons, and monks (this rule prevailed in the Syriac church). Celibate monks were ordered to settle in monasteries.

A. D. 497: Synod of Mar Babai
It confirmed the previous canons, and went farther in approving the Marriage of bishops, including even the patriarch. It reconfirmed the primacy of the see of Seleucia within the church of Mesopotamia.

A.D. 497: Synod of Mar Aba
It created 6 canons pertaining mostly to administration. Canon 2 outlines the theological doctrine of the church of Babylonia. Canon 3 deals with unlawful Marriages, such as polygamy, and matrimonial unions involving close relatives.

A.D. 554: Synod of Mar Joseph
23 canons deal with Faith and church administration, condemning lay people’s interference in church affairs.

A.D. 576: Synod of Mar Ezekiel

A.D. 585: Synod of Mar Isho'yahb
It defined its theology (Trinity, Incarnation, Christology). Canon 30 warns the bishops who did not attend the Synod, and urges them to come to the Seleucia or else they would be eliminated from the church.

A.D. 596: Synod of Mar Sabrisho’

A.D. 605: Synod of Mar Gregory

SYRIAC CHRISTIANITY 1: Sources

There is no literary or archaeological final evidence dealing with the earliest period in the history of Syriac Christianity. There are many Syriac literary sources on the subject but they are late and are more theological than historical in nature. Three sources are of particular interest: The Acts of Saint Thomas the Apostle, founder of the Church in India; The Teaching of Addai, founder of the Church in Edessa (Upper Mesopotamia); The Acts of Mari, founder of the Church in Babylonia. The link between these three sources is as follows: While in India, Thomas sends Addai to Edessa for missionary activities, and in Edessa, Addai sends Mari to Babylonia, to preach Gospel there...

The Acts of Saint Thomas
In summary: Thomas left Palestine with an Indian merchant, arriving at the city of Sandaruk. Here, he was introduced to the king of India Gundaphar. He preached Christianity before the king, won the nobility to his side, but was then killed by the Hindu priesthood. This is a Syriac composition, perhaps dated to the end of the 3rd century, when the remains of Thomas the Apostle were transferred by merchants to Edessa from India.

There are some fact-sounding details: City of Sandaruk: may be the city of Sanatruk; the latter word is well-known as a personal name in Parthia. King Gondaphar: there is a king Godophares or Gundopharnes who struck money uncovered in archaeological sites; his name is for Parthian Windapharna, and he could have been a Parthian prince who ruled an empire that included North-West India

But the Acts of Thomas are a source highly theological, exposing a doctrine in the form of adventurous and symbolic stories and highly poetical hymns. It rejects marriage and sexual intercourse, not because the body is hateful, but for the sake of the heavenly bridegroom... The whole points to a theological trend in the East, rejected by the Orthodox church. The connection of Thomas with Edessa is based on the transfer of his bones to it, and on the fact that in the Teaching of Addai, the Apostle is said to have sent Addai to Edessa for missionary activities

The Teaching of Addai
There is also the Acts of Thaddaeus, perhaps a 3rd century Syriac composition. The Teaching discusses the christianization of Mesopotamia, beginning with the kingdom of Osrhoene, the capital of which was Edessa. It claims that Jesus corresponded with the ruler of Edessa, Abgar Ukama “the Black”. It also claims that it used archival sources found in the royal palace of Edessa... which became the core of this spiritual source. The same archives seems to have been used by Eusebius of Caesarea (ca. 260- ca. 340), a Church Historian native of Palestine, who wrote in Greek his Ecclesiastical History. He claims that he extracted the correspondence “from the archives of Edessa” and translated it from Syriac into Greek. Or may be Eusebius used a Syriac tradition about the correspondence between Jesus and Abgar.

The Acts of Mar Mari
Summery: Addai asked Mari to christianize Babylonia, now under Parthian rule. Mari left Edessa his native city, along with some of his disciples, for missionary activities. On his way he converted the city of Nisibis to the East of the Tigris and its regions, then Arbela in Assyria (north of modern Iraq) and its surroundings, before reaching Babylonia. In the latter’s capital Seleucia-Ctesiphon he established what became later the cradle of Christianity in Mesopotamia.

Many later Christian sources acknowledge the missionary role of Mari in Babylonia: Babylonia is the seat of the East Syriac patriarchate (wrongly called Nestorian). In Babylonia, Kokhe witnessed the first Christian church-building. Many of these Christian sources consider Kokhe the “New-Seleucia” on the Tigris, and indeed Kokhe and Seleucia were close to each other, separated only by a dry valley, which was once the bed of the Euphrates. There is an archaeological evidence that strongly suggests that the activities of Mari in Babylonia took place before A.D. 116 and if this is true, we would have the same date for Addai’s activities in Edessa. Certain Christian native sources claim that Mari came first to Ctesiphon where Kokhe was located, and this reflects the topography of Babylon before A.D. 116. After that date, the Tigris shifted its bed, not only separating Ctesiphon from Kokhe, but associating the latter with Seleucia.

Other sources
Eusebius of Caesarea (4th century), Ecclesiastical History V xxiii-xxv, states that the churches of “Osrhoene and the cities there” agreed with the churches elsewhere in the world to celebrate Easter on Sunday. That agreement took place when Victor I was Bishop of Rome between 189-199.

The Chronicle of Edessa, based on archives in the royal palace of Edessa, states that river Daysan that passed through Edessa overflowed and destroyed “the church of the Christians” in A.D. 201. The account sounds historical.

Bardaysan “the Aramean Philosopher” and his book The Laws of the Countries (written by his disciple between A.D. 196-214), points to the existence of Christians in Mesopotamia, Persia, and elsewhere, where they bore a behavioral identity different from the local, non-Christian, populations:

What do we say about our new Christian congregation, which
Christ had established in every place and country? Wherever we are found we are
called Christians, in accordance with the only name of Christ ... The brothers
in Gallia do not have intercourse with males, nor do those in Parthia take two
wives or those in Judah divorce their wives. Our brothers in Gelas and Cuscianos
do not have intercourse with foreigners, and those in Persia do not take their
daughters in marriage. Those in Media do not abandon their dead, or bury
(people) alive, or give them for dogs to devour. Those in Edessa do not kill
their wives or their sisters who commit adultery, but avoid them, leaving them
to the judgment of God. Those in Hatra do not stone thieves…

The Diatessaron (the 4 Gospels in one), was composed by Tatian in Greek between 150 and 170. It was later translated into Syriac, and became widely used in Mesopotamia until the 5th century.

Socrates and Sozomen (both early 4th century), two Greek Church Historians, mention offerings made at the church of St Thomas in Edessa. According to Sozomen, Edessa accepted Christian faith “since the beginning”.

Other Syriac authors: Barhadbshabba `Arbaya (died 630), Thomas of Marga, Ishodnah of Basra (both 9th century), Michael the Syrian (died 1199), Mari son of Sulayman (12th century), Saliba son Yuhannan (14th century), Barhebraeus (died 1286): Consensus that Edessa knew Christian faith quite early in the Christian era. Barhadbshabba claims that the writings of Ephrem the Syrian (great poet, 4th century) are the transmission of the Teaching of Addai, founder of the first Christian community in Edessa.